The U.S. is entering a recession. The ultimate fear is that could turn into a protracted malaise that has some flavor of a depression.
That's far from the base case, with many analysts and investors taking heart from signs of revival in the original epicenter of the coronavirus — China — and predicting a second-half upturn in the U.S. after the contagion hopefully subsides.
But as business activity halts and layoffs surge, some prominent economy watchers — including former White House chief economists Glenn Hubbard and Kevin Hassett and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder — have drawn comparisons to the Great Depression, though they've stopped well short of forecasting another one.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.